Who I Really Am
by TA Maxwell
Summary: The day after Sakhmet, Sloth does some tihnking about who he really is, and decides to send in a little story to the Neopian Times. This is that story.


TA: just for the disclaimer, I don't own Sloth. Opal and her owner are mine.  
  
That next morning, the morning after everything that had happened in Sakhmet was over, when my eyes opened, I prayed to the faeries it had just all been a bad dream, every minute of it, that I was still ten years old, back with the old woman in her little hut. But the stars drifting by my window told me again this was just another day of exile. I could almost hear those Neopians down on the planet cheering, celebrating. They were lucky. They all had their pets, their friends, their family. But I was alone, like always.  
  
I can hardly remember a single day when I had had someone, or something, with me. I can't even remember my family. I don't know who my parents were, or what. I'm not even sure of what I am. I just remember waking up one morning and seeing the sky. There was nobody, just the sky. I heard a door opening and I saw the face of a woman, a old, kindly looking woman, sort of portly, but kind. She took me in. She lived alone in that house (more of a hut than anything) but she devoted herself to me. I was only ten when she died. There was no funeral, and no one seemed to miss her, except me. That's when I tried going to school. The old woman didn't have any mirrors, so I didn't know I was…different. Everyone laughed at me, teased me, or talked about me. I could feel their fingers pointing at me, and in my sleep I could hear their whispers. Finally, it was too much. I just…ran. Ran and ran and never looked back, all the while thinking thoughts of hatred towards humanity.  
  
Finally, one morning, I saw something, a mirror of sorts, shimmering in front of me. I couldn't make out what I looked like, but then I could see I was different. My skin, my face, everything. Something about that surface called to me, and I answered it. Slowly I stepped through, and when I opened my eyes, I found I was in some barren wasteland. A smile crept across my face. I was alone. There was no one else here, nothing else. From that day, I began to make things from items I found on the ground: little pieces of metal became machines, and mud, rocks and dirt became creatures. They obeyed me, listened to me, I finally had some…friends. Until the day the light came.  
  
I had been on that planet by myself for years, and my creations roamed above. I had an entire underground laboratory to create them with, and keep an eye out for humans. As I was above, playing with my creations and having a fine time, the clouds above me slowly parted, and for the first time in years, I saw sunlight. When the sunlight hit earth, my creatures vanished, and grass and flowers and trees began to grow. I was stunned. I had forgotten, after so many years, how beautiful it all way. But…it hurt. The light blinded me, and my skin was burning. I wanted to stay up there and watch, but I couldn't. So I ran to my lab and hid. As I ran around, realizing my friends were dying, I heard my computer saying something I had never expected to hear: "Lifeform detected. Lifeform detected." I ran to my computer to see what it was. It was a small, dragon like creature. It looked confused. Then there was a flash of light from above, and another creature appeared, a little ball of fluff with large feet. I thought it was…rather cute. Perhaps, after all my years of surviving on this planet I had come to call Neopia, something was finally giving me some real friends. I watched with intent as all sorts of creatures appeared. I was ecstatic. That day, as night begin to fall, I prepared to go up onto land and make friends with those creatures. But something stopped me.  
  
On my monitor was a human. Two humans! A man and a woman! My eyes narrowed. They had found me again, those blasted, hateful humans. As I watched, the two talked, then ran away. In front of my eyes they vanished, and for a moment, I relaxed. But then they were back, and they had more people with them. Those people ran off and brought more, until there was a large group of humans on Neopia. Growling to myself like some animal, I stayed below, and watched, hatred and memories swarming within me. Then I realized, so much time had passed. Perhaps…perhaps these people were different. So I would take my chances and go above. Preparing a welcoming speech for the humans and animals, I ascended to the top. Not one of the people noticed me, until I cleared my throat. As a group, they turned and I prepared to introduce myself.  
  
"Uh, hi. My name's Frank."  
  
My voice was different though. I hadn't spoken in so long. It sounded like a foreign language. One of the women screamed, "It's a mutant sloth!" and ran. The rest followed her lead. The old pain came back again. As I stood there, watching them run away, one small creature walked up to me and tugged on my coat. The creature was green, and had two large red eyes, red like mine, green skinned like me. It had two green stalks coming from its head, and a huge smile on its face. I knelt down to look it face to face. It looked at me for a second before opening its mouth and saying, "Frank Sloth." Frank Sloth. An interesting name. I could figure out where it got sloth from. Frank Sloth…no, Dr. Sloth. Yes! Dr. Sloth! Dr. Frank Sloth! That was it! My name, a name that would make those human shudder in fear, and pray they had never entered Neopia!  
  
As these thoughts of evil danced in my head, I remembered the creature still tugging on my coat. I looked down at it again. It smiled and asked me a single question. "Frank Sloth be friend?" This creature wanted to be my friend. I bit my lip to stop tears from coming into my eyes. Frank Sloth be friend? I found myself nodding. "Frank Sloth friend." The creature ran off repeating this, and for once, I felt happy.  
  
Time passed, and more humans came into Neopia daily. The place I had once called my own was growing steadily…with…people…I wanted my home back, where I could live in peace again. By that time, I had built a giant space station. Those green creatures, the type of the one that had befriended me, were my servants, but everyone called them slaves. Just another scar on my soul. I permitted those who wished to leave to go, and they went to the adoption agency on my station. That blasted woman, I had told her to send them back to their home planet, but she kept them locked up in cages in that one room! The pest. Then they came again. Those cursed human found me again! They had already destroyed my lab, now what was going to happen to me? I stayed hidden while they came by the dozens. One trespassing fool stumbled upon my greatest creation…it was a ray that would send every human down on Neopia back to that world they came from! The next day I opened my Neopian Times, and there, in giant letters on the front page, Sloth To Destroy Neopia and Mutate Pets! All Neopians Requested to Fight Back!  
  
Oh, was I mad…no, I was furious! But…at least those humans were adopting my Grundos…slave pets indeed, blasted woman…I'd have to fire her after this was all over…A few days later I was finally able to escape my prison and dash to the control panel of my ray. I was going to send each one of them back to where they came from! I laughed maniacally as I aimed. Finally, I would be freed of the pestilence! I fired the ray…but…no, even the faerie's believed the stories of those humans! The Space faerie appeared in front of the ray. I was terrified it would kill her, but it didn't. Some interfering idiot translated my cries of happiness to those of defeat. I gave up and fled to a land I had discovered long ago, a land of dinosaurs. I called the creatures there Chompy and Tweetri, because the first ate, a lot, and the other was a prehistoric bird. For a while, I was at peace there in the dung pits (smelly, but at peace.) Then there was an earthquake, and apparently a rift formed in the ice caves. Tears of defeat stung my eyes as human swarmed into my sacred area. They named my pets Chomby and Pteri. I liked my names better. I had made many loyal followers in the time I hid in Tyrannia, as it came to be called, and they rallied for me and attacked the humans! I tried to stop them, but…they awakened the Monoceraptor, and I certainly wasn't going to fight with that deadly creature! But…somehow…it was defeated…in a joint effort. Pity stung me as I fled again, this time to the deserts. I had heard of a device there that would give me the strength to rid Neopia of those blasted humans once and for all. But I had to get the key first…from a Bruce known as B.  
  
A loyal Jetsam follower of mine was able to get the talisman in a game of Cheat and I flew to the desert. And I was followed, by that Bruce! But he and his two female friends couldn't stop me. I got the staff, and as soon as I laid hands on it, I could feel an evil power coursing through me. I couldn't control it, and no longer did I have the urge to chase everyone out of Neopia, I wanted to control it! That Bruce and his friends followed me. I "had" to get rid of them, the staff wanted rid of them. The Kyrii was turned into a snake and the lovely Acara princess a mutant with the power of the staff. The Bruce escaped (surprisingly, he was the largest of them all too.) And then, again, came the people. But I had the power…I seized the city in the desert and kept in a high tower, where I could watch my legions battle it out. What a fight. But there was something that I would never forget, the day before I was defeated. I found kindness…in a human.  
  
A grin curved my face as hundred of Neopians fell under the power of my creation, the enormous Rock Beast. It was as powerful as the Monoceraptor, and it could be revived…as I watched, I saw a figure dart out of the crowd and into my tower. My eyes narrowed, and I decided to give that…thing…a scare. I walked down the step until I hit the third floor. That was where I could hear her, and see her. On a small rock outcropping attached to the stairs, there sat a young girl, teenage years I would say, cradling a tiny creature, the Neopet known as a Kacheek. She was whispering to it, "It's all right Opal, you'll be all right. You'll be fine. Everything will be–" she caught her breath as she saw me standing there, looking at her. The Kacheek took one look at me and tried to bury itself deeper in her arms. She jumped to her feet and tried to run, but I blocked her way. She tried going the other way, but I had the upper hand, and better location. She closed her eyes tightly. "Please, don't hurt Opal. Do what you want to me, but don't hurt my little girl." I stopped at these words. All the time I had been there, I had seen humans running from the battle with their pets, screaming, "Let's get out of here!" and "I'm not gonna die for this!" And here was this young girl who'd risk her life for her pet. I was silent for a moment, before I said, "Get out of here." The girl looked up at me with amazement. I let her pass. She looked back at me one last time, then ran down the stairs and out. The next day Brucey B found me up there and destroyed my staff, thankfully. He just wanted that amulet (which had been used days ago at the temple.) The Neopets had turned as greedy as the humans. Anyway, when the staff broke, so did it's mental grip on me. No longer did I want to control Neopia. I looked with anguish on the destruction I had caused. I had to get away, before I went mad! I didn't want to cause so much pain! But I had let it happen! I had to flee! In those few days I had been able to transform the top of the tower into a spaceship, and after pushing the Bruce away, I escaped. And here I am, out in space.  
  
All these memories, these thoughts run through my mind as I look out at the dark sky. I can see my face in the window. On my face, the old, wrinkled, green face with red eyes, a single tear is sparkling, just one trace of the life that I once lived. I'm hoping this story will reach the eyes of a sympathetic human (for I now know they exist) and he or she will try to get it into the Neopian Times. I just want to be seen in the other light. I don't want to be the "evil guy" any longer. Please, Neopians, put me in the other point of view. 


End file.
